The Huntington Campaign

Fate Card

There are two kinds of Fate Cards in the Huntington Campaign: the standard version and the hereditary version.

Standard Fate Card
A standard Fate Card is represented by the suit of Shields from the Arthurian deck of tarot cards, numbered five or higher. Once awarded to a character, a Fate Card is kept in the character folder until used. If the character dies in a manner other than natural aging, the player can return the Fate Card to the GM while announcing that it is to be used to save the character. The GM will then turn back time in the game and reinterpret the events in a manner that preserves this character from the deadly event that had initially transpired. Depending on the exact situation, the GM may grant other favorable circumstances to him as well.

If a deadly event struck down a character with a Fate Card as well as his allies (such as the ceiling of a castle collapsing on them), use of the Fate Card will probably only save the character himself. Even though the clock will be turned back to reinterpret the outcome in a way that preserves the life of the one who used the Fate Card, that same reinterpretation will probably not also save his allies. Nevertheless, there is no hard and fast rule here, and the GM (naturally) will be the final arbitrator.

A Fate Card may be kept in your character’s folder from session to session, keeping it until it is needed. It is permissible for a character to accumulate more than one Fate Card at a time. Keep in mind that a Fate Card cannot be used to save a character who dies from natural aging. Nevertheless, it is possible to save him from death that results from supernatural aging, such as a magical attack that rapidly ages a person (like what happened to that dude at the end of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade). In such cases, the GM will make a decision based on the circumstances at hand.

A standard Fate Card cannot be given from one character to another.

Hereditary Fate Card
Hereditary Fate Cards are represented by the Ace, two, three and four from the suit of Shields of the Arthurian deck of tarot cards. Each operates in the same way as a standard Fate Card with the following exception: a character who possesses a Hereditary Fate Card may elect not to use it and instead give it to a blood descendant. Such an event may take place at any time, and therefore the player can make this decision before or after the initial possessor of the card dies. The character who acquires a Hereditary Fate Card in this fashion has the same choice of either using it or giving it to a blood descendant. At any given time in the Huntington Campaign, there will be no more than four Hereditary Fate Cards in play.

Examples of the Effects of a Fate Card (of Either Type)
Example of how a Fate Card does not work: Let us say that your character is condemned to death by the local duke. At the chopping block, the executioner cuts off your character’s head with a big axe. Your character is now completely & utterly dead! But he has a Fate Card and you return it to the GM, announcing that you want your character’s life to be saved. The GM then turns back time, and determines that the executioner accidentally misses with his axe. But then the executioner simply picks up the axe once more, swings and kills your character. Not having an additional Fate Card, your character is, indeed, dead. What a rip-off, huh? But fortunately, that’s not how this sort of event is supposed to play out.

Example of how a Fate Card does work: We’ll use the same scenario involving your character being condemned to death by the local duke. Let us say that the executioner chops off your character’s head with a big axe. You then turn in a Fate Card so that your character can be saved. The GM then turns back time, and determines that just before the executioner swings his axe, a messenger arrives announcing that the duke has issued a pardon for your character. His life is spared!